Nurturing gifted students’ metacognitive awareness: Effects of training in homogeneous and heterogeneous classes

Abstract

Grouping students for instruction according to intellectual ability remains a contentious practice. This small, classroom‐based study investigated the impact of classmates of the same or different intellectual abilities on the responses of six gifted students to five sessions of metacognitive awareness training activities. Three students were enrolled in a homogeneous gifted class and three in a heterogeneous (mixed‐ability) class. In each session the teacher/researcher asked students to develop and discuss a machine analogy for their mind while solving a problem. Their drawings, written products and interview responses were analyzed. Individual differences were clearly evident before and after instruction. All students’ awareness of their mind's activity improved. They were more aware of the complexity of their thinking, reported a greater understanding of differences in their own thinking related to differences in the tasks, and gained an appreciation for differences in the problem‐solving processes of their classmates. In addition, three classroom‐specific differences emerged. Students in the homogeneous gifted class showed a greater increase in the number of control functions performed by the mind‐machines they proposed; they offered descriptions of their machines which were longer, more sophisticated and more creative; and they spontaneously leap‐frogged off each others’ ideas. The students in the heterogeneous class were more hesitant and conforming. It appears advocates of ability grouping can find support for their claims of differential benefits to learners in homogeneous and heterogeneous settings.